26th Primo Cup-Trophée Credit Suisse

by Isabelle Andrieux on 15 Feb 2010

Primo Cup 2010 Yacht Club de Monaco http://www.yacht-club-monaco.mc

It was a very intense 26th Primo Cup-Trophée Credit Suisse.

'That was tactically very exhausting!'. The words of Nicolas Bérenger, big winner in the Longtze Premier category for the second year in a row, best describes the challenges faced by competitors in the 26th Primo Cup-Trophée Credit Suisse. After last weekend’s first round, which drew four one-designs (Dragon, Smeralda 888, Melges 20 and Esse 850), the bay of Monaco was again bustling with activity, colour and surprises, from Thursday’s snow blizzard to the offshore race on Friday through to the pleasant winter sunshine of the closing day. For this second weekend there were six series: Longtze Premier, Melges 32, Farr 30, Platu 25, J24 and the Surprises who were competing in their Europa Cup.

Once again the Primo Cup-Trophée Credit Suisse confirmed its reputation as a demanding and top quality event for the 900 sailors (17 nationalities) who converge at the start of every season from across the world.

With their boats already loaded onto the trailers, competitors gathered at the end of the afternoon for the traditional prize-giving with Bernard d'Alessandri, Secretary General of the Yacht Club de Monaco as master of ceremonies. The first three teams in each category all received clothing from the Advanced Technology Sportswear line of equipment manufacturer and event partner, Slam. The winning Surprise, Va... Rhum of Eric Monnin, was presented with the second Hublot Chronograph, one having gone to the first of the Dragons last weekend. The coveted gold ingot offered by Credit Suisse in a lucky draw was won by Gérard Garros who was racing on the J24 (Blue Eagle).

Swiss Eric Monnin takes first place in the Europa Cup!
Forty-one Surprise teams from five nations were in the Principality this week to race in their own Europa Cup as part of the Primo Cup-Trophée Credit Suisse. It was a chance for the Yacht Club de Monaco to pay tribute to this series which has been loyal to the Primo Cup for over 20 years now. A firm favourite and speciality with the Swiss (they have more than 400 of these attractive Joubert designed boats) it seems there was to be no escape from Geneva Lake for the title which went to match race specialist Eric Monnin. He showed impressive consistency throughout the seven races and clinched the trophy on his Va... Rhum. He resisted the storming return of Toulon’s Patrick Fiol (Zig Zag) who was particularly inspired in Sunday’s devious wind. The French completed a podium dominated by the Swiss as it was Jérôme Clerc (CER I Aéroport de Genève) from Geneva, in the lead for a long time, who took second place. The Surprise races produced some fierce clashes, notably in Saturday’s complex swell, with a veritable festival of general recalls and races competed under the black flag rule, so symptomatic of the fighting spirit that drives these crews.

Olympic ends Dunkirk dominance
The year 2009 was one for the Chti's, and not just in the cinema, as in sailing it has been the Dunkirk team of Daniel Souben who left their mark on the Farr 30 class, winning all the events in the calendar including the Tour de France. Fabien Henry’s team from Hyères on Olympic finally broke the northerners run of success in Monaco, clinching the title on a knife edge after seven tightly fought races. With Bernard Mallaret (Tendrisse) as referee, the duel between the two main protagonists in the next Tour de France à la Voile was nail-biting at times in the light, unpredictable winds of Monaco which change direction at the drop of a hat upsetting even the most carefully thought out strategy. 'There was a lot of stress on board,' Henry admitted, 'because the slightest mistake could have cost us dearly. By winning the first race in the morning, Daniel Souben, the Dunkirk skipper, had come within a point of winning overall. So it was the very last race which decided it in the end. We had managed to leave from the middle of the start line with a fresh breeze. Maintaining our lead was a matter of keeping our cool.'

Melges 32s put on a show
Fast, elegant and floaty, the Melges 32 were the one-design series that had no problem coping with the changeable conditions in Monaco. Here for their first regatta of the year, the American world championship team led by Pieter Taselaar took a little time to find their feet and make their mark. Although they lost their first three races, the champions were quick to correct their errors and to finish this Primo Cup-Trophée Credit Suisse in fine style with three victories in the last three races. 'We have sailed very little in the last few months ,' confessed Pieter Taselaar who was clearly delighted with the week in Monaco. 'All our crew were at the same point in terms of development and we saw that during the races, the instinctive, automatic reactions returned very quickly.' It was a little too late however to catch up with the talented young Italian Luca Lalli, who grabbed first place in his B Linsailing.com. The nine Melges 32s proved to be a very homogenous class, racing neck and neck round the marks and providing a great spectacle in well organised boats and with crews who were concentrating to the full. It was another Italian, Edoardo Lupi (Torpyone) who took third place in this high performance, professional and spectacular class.

Happy Birthday Eckhard!
Earning a well-deserved second place in the Longtze class, behind the untouchable Nicolas Bérenger (Un maillot pour la vie), the German Eckhard Kaller (wetfeet.com) celebrated his birthday on the Sunday by winning the day’s two races. He remains the most threatening of Bérenger’s rivals in this colourful series that is growing fast. Fifteen of them delighted spectators with a spectacle of how these boats can fly, their shinning hulls surfing the swell and their battened sails whipping round in the gybes like a Class America. Laurent Berjon and his crew from the HEC-Ecole navale with skipper Stéphane Christidis took third place, and also pose a threat to the dominance of the superb Nicolas Bérenger in the future.

J/24: Monaco’s sovereigns
With 18 J/24s on the water, this Johnstone design series was one of the biggest and most consistent in this 26th Primo Cup-Trophée Credit Suisse. The Monegasques Blandine Medecin were unstoppable on their territory, a fourth place being their worst result and winning four of the seven races validated. The Italian Claudio Buiati (J Di Quadri) came in second overall, and another Monegasque, Pierrick Devic (Miaou) took third.

Platu 25: A German among the Spanish
The series may be hugely popular in Spain where the next championships will be held (Alicante, July 2010), but it was a German who came out on top in Monaco in the Platu 25 series. Faced with the Spanish specialists, but also the Swiss and Italians, Jens Ahlgrimm (Farr Bar) only showed his limitations in Sunday’s races. But his total domination from the Friday onwards gave him a comfortable lead which allowed him to take a relaxed approach to the swell that day. The Italian Gianrocco Catalano (Nanuck) was the one to benefit from this slackening of pace to take third overall behind the consistent Pepe Lis Santos (Xacobeo 2010) who was delighted to have had the chance for some intense preparation in Monaco, which he hopes will take him to the top in the world championships in Alicante.

What they said:

Bernard D'Alessandri, Secretary General of the Yacht Club de Monaco:
'The competitors seemed to me to be satisfied with their week. They competed in eight races of which seven counted towards the overall rankings. At this time of year that’s acceptable and is one of the reasons why people come from all over Europe (and beyond) to begin their season. Our formula of racing many series on the same course at the same time certainly adds to the technical challenge, but is accepted as par for the course in fleet racing.'

Fabien Henry, Farr 30 winner on Olympic:
'This was a very stressful weekend. One knows in Monaco anything can happen and that you must remain focused right to the very end. To win here is tremendous, especially for our loyal partner Olympic who has followed us for over a year now. We have put an end to Courrier Dunkerque’s dominance, winner here last year and winner of all the big races in this class over the last year. In the changeable wind conditions that reigned this weekend, all the crew had to stay focused. We want to continue the season as we’ve started, with big meetings coming up in Brest, Pornichet and Le Havre, with the Tour as our holy grail!'

Nicolas Bérenger, Longtze Premier winner on Un maillot pour la vie:
'I am very happy to have won again in Monaco, and particularly with this team of friends - Olivier Duthoit, Edouard Masse and Sylvain Chtounder. These were three gruelling days as the bay of Monaco didn’t spare us. It was tactically and intellectually very exhausting. Naturally we hope to take part in all the events on the Longtze European tour, but that depends a little on finding another partner. From a personal point of view, I would like to be on the starting line for the Route du Rhum next October.'

Lorenzo Bressani, Melges 32 B Linsailing.com
'Our team has been together for many years and we benefited this year from a new owner-skipper, the young and very talented Luca Lalli. We know the waters off Monaco as we come here every year either in the Melges 32, Melges 24, Platu 25 and even for the Smeralda 888 class. You need a lot of talent and a bit of luck to win here. That was our case. The aim for us is to prepare well for the World Championships in San Francisco. The high level of the Primo Cup with the presence of a world champion in the American Pieter Taselaar (Bliksem) has helped us a great deal with this preparation.'

Final rankings

Melges 32: after 7 races
1. Luca lalli (B linsailing.com): 17 points
2. Pieter taselaar (Bliksem): 22 pts
3. Edoardo Lipi (Torpyone): 28 pts

Longtze Premier, 7 races
1. Nicolas Bérenger (Un maillot pour la vie): 10 points
2. Eckard Kaller (www.wetfeet.de): 16 points
3. Laurent berjon (Voiles et voiliers): 23 pts

Farr 30, 7 races
1. Fabien Henry (Olympic): 13 pts
2. Daniel Souben (Courrier Dunkerque): 15 points
3. Laurent Abignoli (Tendrisse): 15 pts

Platu 25, 7 races
1. Jens Ahlgrimm (Farr Bar): 15 points
2. Pepe Lis santos (Xacobeo 2010): 16 pts
3. Gianrocco Catalano (Nanuck): 20 pts

J24, 7 races
1. Blandine Medecin (Real Immobilier): 11 points
2. Claudio Buiatti (J Di quadri): 22 pts
3. Pierrick Devic (Miaou): 28 pts

Surprise, 7 races
Eric Monnin, (Va… Rhum): 27 points
Jérôme clerc (CER I aéroport de Genève): 33 pts
Patrick Fiol (Zig Zag): 34 pts